Some Ideas For Photographing The Colors Of Fall

Photo credit - Lance Ulanoff I spent a good part of Sunday afternoon out in the woods near my house, taking photos of the fall colors. In my section of South Central Connecticut we're at least a week from peak...

Photo credit - Lance Ulanoff

I spent a good part of Sunday afternoon out in the woods near my house, taking photos of the fall colors. In my section of South Central Connecticut we're at least a week from peak color. There's still plenty to see. One thing I've learned today is how non-uniform the progression of color is. There are nearly naked trees sitting next to fully green ones. Color is scattered--better seen in tight shots than wide ones.

No sooner did I return to the couch that an email arrived from my friend and fellow photographer Steve. "Have you already read this?" he asked, with a link to "5 Ways To Shoot Autumn Leaves." on BeyondMegapixels.com. Who knew--"Red, orange and yellow are advancing colors. This means that if you look at different colored objects at a same distance from you, the objects that are colored red, orange and yellow will appear closer." That revelation (at least to me) is followed by five decent tips.

Barry Baker, writing at Arlington Camera, has a reminder that's often overlooked--noon is for lunch, not foliage photography. OK, not his exact words, but the meaning's there.

"The optimal light for photographs occurs during the morning hours as well as in the late afternoon. So try to plan your fall foliage outing accordingly. Even if taking photographs is not your primary goal, the same light is much better for sight-seeing as well as photography. Back to back side lighting will often give you the best color "pop" on your finished image."

Sometimes the best tips are found by looking at someone else's work! This is where tags on Flickr, Picasaweb¹ and other photo sharing sites come in handy. Take a few minutes to go-to-school based on the experience of others. You have to hope people aren't posting every shot they take.

¹ - As far as I can tell, you need to be signed in (free account) to search on Picasaweb. I wish that wasn't so.